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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Spiderman of the stairwell

I was going to post something on ghosts today, but I think that is going to have to wait. You see, I have this new theory on evolution that's been developing, oh, for the last two hours or so as I've been trying to re-attach the stairway spires to our second floor landing.

Theory #1: some children are part imp.

I had to research imps for the first Accidental Demon Slayer book and most sources I found describe them as these tiny, mischievous creatures who like to get into everything. I made mine minions of the devil. After what happened this morning, that's not too far off. Because in the time it took me to enjoy a 10 minute shower, my 2.5 year old son removed two stairwell spires and decided to see if he could "climb" down the landing, "like Spiderman."

Luckily, he's not at all quiet and I was summoned from the bathroom, quite drippy, to see what large object had crashed down the stairs (luckily a wooden part of the landing and not his hard little head). I don't know how he removed the spires (that are bigger than he is and glued into place - I checked the rest of them), but I do know one thing.

Theory #2: it's my dad's fault

Sure, he's been gone for several years, but from what I've heard, my dad was a trouble maker too. My son is descended from a person who, as a child, decided to wear a Superman cape and jump off the roof of the house. My dad was also known to tie up his friends ("cowboy and Indian -style") and then forget about them. And I'm pretty sure I remember the story about him removing the doorknobs from his room, "just to see what would happen."

So for people who think my books are outrageous - hah! They should try living in the Fox household. Now where's my wood glue?...

I married a man who used to jump off tracks in front of on coming trains into a creek for fun. His father when little used to ride his pushbike off a pier into the Swan River in Western Australia. Daredevils are the only way you can explain these men without actually getting the belt out and giving them a hiding.And so I have two sons now - one is fairly adept at getting into trouble but knows when to ease back. And he too dresses in Spiderman gear and climbs - the couch, the wall, the outside railings giving his mother grey hairs. The other younger one we like to call BamBam - his twin sister is nicknamed Pebbles. BamBam is a destructive force of nature. If there's some way he can destroy it to see how it works he will. I shudder to think what's coming next.

It sounds like your going to have your hands full for a while with your little one. When I was a child I did crazy things as well. Like ... talking all the kids in the neighborhood into making parachutes with me out of backpacks, fishing line and trash bags and then we all jumped out of the top of a tree. There were many broken bones that day. This type of thing was common for me as a growing up. What scares me most though is the fact that my son is well... Perfect. I'm not saying that just as a proud mom but this kid does nothing and I mean nothing wrong. I think when he becomes a teen he will make up for the years of not doing anything wrong. I'm truly scared

Oh no Angie I think I'll just keep mine to myself lol. I'll just keep enjoying the peace while it last. My son (Doyle) is ten so those teen years aren't too far away. I could always send you a bunch of velcro and you could velcro your little one to the wall so that you can take a shower.